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The metric system is an international system of measurement used in all the countries of the world, except for the United States, Burma and Liberia. It was designed to be a universal system that could easily be used by ordinary people. It is a decimal system that is designed to make complex conversions between units, such as conversion between inches and yards, obsolete. If you want to know who developed the metric system of measurement, continue reading to find out.

Who invented the metric system?
In 1586, a mathematician called Simon Stevin published a pamphlet stating that he believed that decimal weights, measurements and coins would eventually be adopted. These ideas were adopted by John Wilkins and he created the Universal Measurement System in 1668. This was used as the basis of the modern metric system.

In 1670 a French scientist called Gabriel Mouton developed a system of decimal measurement based on the Earth’s circumference. His ideas were supported by Jean Picard and Christiaan Huygens, who were two highly regarded scientists of the time. Around the same time, German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz proposed a similar system to Gabriel Mouton. In 1790 the metric system we know today was developed by the French National Assembly.

The first country to adopt the metric system was France in 1799 and by 1875 almost half of the world’s population was using the system. The United States remains the only industrialized country that has not switched to the metric system. Thomas Jefferson proposed a decimal system of measurement for the United States in 1790, which was different from today’s metric system, but it was rejected by Congress.

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